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I keep hearing about that greatest challenge in the aftermarket, a technician shortage. Recently instead of listening to the ‘woe is me’ story, I asked, ‘How are we going to fix it?’ and no surprise, there were great answers to this question.

The top solutions to the tech shortage are not new, but they will require action and if we do nothing to close the gap we have no one to blame but ourselves. We are hurting on a few different fronts mainly with the lack of young people enrolling in automotive CTE programs (Career and Technical Education) at both high-school and college levels, and the poaching of our technicians from other industries that are also desperately in need of technicians, including: diesel, fleet, government, and fork lift among others.

The fix is not an easy task and will require a level of volunteerism like we have never seen before in our industry. If you have ever searched for a technician, and you do not want to be in that position again, then let that feeling drive your decision to change.

Shop owners must understand that their future and the future of our industry is to involve our young people into appreciating the automotive world. There is a lot of momentum that makes the automotive world attractive today. Simply put, we are driving a computer-controlled machine that is connected to the world which can be an attractive talking point to young people who want to work with their hands and computers.

So, is it enough to tell the kids, “Hey would you like to work on high tech computer-controlled cars?” Maybe not. Who we need to tell are their parents. That does not mean that we stop talking to the kids and hope that they tell their parents, instead we need to talk to our middle school parents, counselors, principals and superintendents. We do this by volunteering for advisory committees, speaking at career days, talking to the rotary clubs, chambers and the many other local volunteer service groups in your community. If we do not sell/recruit our industry at the middle school and parental level, we miss our chance when career paths start to form.

Do not wait for an invite, walk into a high school and ask about their automotive program and ask to be involved; same for college (post-secondary). Most need advisory board members, especially independents to get involved. They need your support to help grow their program and engage their students.

We have a vibrant auto care industry with 535,508 registered business, and 278 million registered motor vehicles. The auto care industry reached $368 billon in 2016 and it is projected that vehicles in operation will increase by 10.4% by 2021. The auto care industry employs 4.6 million professionals. Speaking of vibrant and opportunistic.

Here are some important elements of your contribution that goes beyond the schooling if we are to fix our tech shortage.

Start holding Automotive STEM classes for middle schoolers in your shop. They will be so impressed to learn about the “rolling computer”.

Create a summer boot camp for students who want to learn about the automotive industry.

Get involved with high school and post-secondary education. You can join an advisory board and simply ask what they need and then set out to help fulfill those needs.

Develop a comprehensive apprentice program - they are available with government help.

Improve the integration of our young people into the industry.

For much of our image and career pathing problems we need to look internally, maybe even research why entry technicians left the industry. Check your business culture, work environment, commitment to training, pay and benefits, tooling, image, marketing, etc. There is a ground swell from independent shop owners that are making improvements to their businesses in the form of margin and labor rate improvements and managing their key performance numbers. They realize that a stronger bottom line and improved business culture will help negate the technician shortage because they can retain and recruit talent from a stronger position.

If we get involved and talk up our exciting trade the message will start to be discussed at the dinner table. Let us be proud of the industry we earn our living with, where technology is ruling every new advancement and will require talented, computer ‘nerds’ to repair today and tomorrows future transportation needs. Welcome the parents, kids and teachers to your place and share the future.

There was a great discovery in Oklahoma City when chalkboard drawings from 1917 were found at a high school. While remodeling Emerson High School, contractors found lessons nearly 100 years old underneath old chalkboards that were to be replaced with new whiteboards. The school principal said, “It was like a spiritual moment because people who had lived, played and worked in here – a part of them, is preserved”.

Have you unearthed some of your old writings lately? Go and find an old folder in the back of the file cabinet drawer. Search for the leather-bound journals you used years ago to write your plans or thoughts. What about that pile of yellow note pads stuffed in a drawer? Open the training binders you’ve boxed up for ‘safe keeping’ and look in the margins for your written thoughts or ideas. If you’ve saved these ‘important’ documents, what was the reason?

I recently pulled out a few old journals and read through them. I was amazed at how much my thinking hadn’t changed, but evolved. I also was impressed with how many ideas I implemented.

How rare is it to visit your writings or notes from years past? For some, never. I recommend you do it. With a view of your world today, your notes or writings may look or seem familiar; even as things have changed, the core message to yourself may be golden today. The tactic may have changed, but the strategy may be solid.

Don’t discount the ‘thoughts’ you had back then. If anything, your thoughts, and writings, may bring you valuable points to help you accomplish your goals today. Use your past thoughts and ideas to freshen your to-do list and get more meaningful work done.

Where are you today in position, success, and role? How can you connect or relate what was back in the day to your world now? Recycling, refreshing and reusing your old thoughts may save you time and bring joy and rewards in seeing the foundation you had, back in the day, come to life today.

You may also use these old notes or journals to see just how far you have come in your responsibilities and leadership role.

If you want a quality trip through memory lane to truly evaluate your personal and professional growth, get out your old meeting notes, journals or folders and get back to the future.

In a recent forum with three shop owners we discussed comeback prevention, they all agreed that prevention starts at the front door. There were some very common themes that resonated with this discussion and I want to share four of them with you.

It is all About Communication.When you provide enough information to a technician, the better the tech can handle the diagnosis. Asking good customer questions and writing a detailed repair order for the technician is the perfect start to a quality repair.

Improve Your Processes.Quality, not a quota, is the strategy you need to adopt to reduce comebacks. Quality control checklists at the end of the repair can only do so much, you should always be looking to improve your processes. A good quality control (QC) process is important to tighten up the overall operation. Sometimes you must ‘slow down’ in order to ‘speed up’. You need the ability to throw down the STOP card. Spend a lot of time on internal procedures and processes so repair QC is nearly perfect every time. Follow your repair procedures100% of the time, no exceptions!

Track Every Comeback.Tracking every comeback is a necessity if you are going to reduce your comebacks. By logging every comeback you will discover if it was communication, process or part quality. Track all costs associated with the comeback including rental car and supplier warranty credit. If failure rates are too high on a product line, you will need to take this up with your supplier. You must log where the part was purchased and the brand. You need to be able to spot trends.

Reputation.In the eyes of the customer, even a missed oil change sticker shows a breakdown in the process. The customer may think, what else did they miss? You need to follow up with each customer on each job. Check with them and understand the post-transaction. Follow up is so important for first-time customers because their anxiety level is high. It will help to ease their mind (when you call the customer back) 48 – 72 hours after the repair. Your overall reputation for quality, honesty and integrity can lessen the shock of comebacks.

Comeback prevention and management starts at the top. Your quality will be determined by how well you lead others. Remember success comes from managing the details and leading people. When meeting with your team, include a low comeback rate on your praise list. Bring acclaim to the behaviors you are looking to see in your team.

In a survey, these shop owners rated these three top failure conditions: Communication 50%, Part Failures 40% and Technician Errors 10%. Look inside your business and compare your percentages and work to make the improvements to prevent and lower costly comebacks.

“Perfection is not attainable, but if you chase perfection we can catch excellence.” Vince Lombardi

Kevin Harvick, running a JASPER 4-Speed Transmission, won Saturday's Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series KC Masterpiece 400 at Kansas Speedway. It was Harvick's second consecutive win, and fifth victory of the season. Martin Truex, Jr. was second, as drivers running JASPER products took three of the five finishing positions, and seven of the top ten, at the checkered flag.

A recap of the results from Saturday's race at Kansas Speedway follows.

Kevin Harvick, running a JASPER 4-Speed Transmission, won Sunday's Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series AAA 400 Drive for Autism at Dover International Speedway. Harvick lead 201 of the 400 laps enroute to his fourth win of the season. Drivers running JASPER products took the top five finishing positions, and six of the top ten, at the checkered flag. Christopher Bell, also running a JASPER 4-Speed Transmission, finished fourth in Saturday's NASCAR Xfinity Series OneMain Financial 200 at Dover. Drivers running JASPER products took three of the top ten finishing positions in Saturday's race.

A recap of the results from this weekend's races at Dover International Speedway follows.

Jasper Engines & Transmissions was recently named as one of America’s Best Midsize Employers for 2018 by Forbes magazine.

According to Forbes, JASPER ranked 72nd out of 500 nationwide companies with 1,000 to 5,000 employees. JASPER was ranked as America’s top midsize company in the Automotive and Suppliers sector, and was one of seven Indiana-based companies to make the list.

For over 75 years, JASPER has strived to be, not only, the Brand of Choice for our Customers, but the Company of Choice for our Associate-Owners. JASPER’s Vision Statement asks all Associate-Owners to work as a Team, in the spirit of Mutual Trust and Mutual Respect, while focusing on a never-ending commitment to Safety, Quality, Productivity, Customer Service and the Reduction of Waste.

Zach Bawel, President, said, “We are honored that JASPER has been recognized by Forbes for this award. It is a testament to the Associate-Owners that make JASPER a great place to work. Our Associate-Owners exhibit our core value of Mutual Trust and Mutual Respect, while living out our Mission Statement of Do it Right… and Have Fun!”

The 2018 Forbes list was based on an independent survey conducted by the market research company Statista. The anonymous survey asked 30,000 Americans, working for businesses with at least 1,000 employees, to rate how likely they’d be to recommend their employers to others. Statista then asked respondents to nominate organizations in industries outside their own.

The rankings were divided into two lists: one for the top midsize companies with 1,000 to 5,000 employees, and another for the top large companies with more than 5,000 employees.

Kurt Busch, running a JASPER 4-Speed Transmission, finished second in Sunday's Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. Drivers running JASPER products took four of the top ten finishing positions at the checkered flag. Brandon Jones, also running a JASPER 4-Speed Transmission, finished second in Saturday's NASCAR Xfinity Series Sparks Energy 300 at Talladega. Drivers running JASPER products took four of the top ten finishing positions in Saturday's race.

A recap of the results from this weekend's races at Talladega Superspeedway follows.

Kyle Busch, running a JASPER 4-Speed Transmission, earned his third straight Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series win of 2018 in Saturday's Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond Raceway. Busch came from 32nd starting position to equal Kevin Harvick's run of three straight wins this year at Atlanta, Las Vegas and Phoenix. Drivers running JASPER products took five of the top ten finishing positions at the checkered flag. Christopher Bell, also running a JASPER 4-Speed Transmission, won Friday's NASCAR Xfinity Series ToyotaCare 250 at Richmond. Drivers running JASPER products took five of the top ten finishing positions in Friday's race.

A recap of the results from this weekend's races at Richmond Raceway follows.

Many service professionals have improved their businesses by documenting and honing their processes and systems. They also found that creating a strong unwavering culture that put their people first was a positive turning point in their business. When your people come first, they take care of your customers and allow for organic sales growth. Your team and your customers are appreciated, and your systems ensure their success and satisfaction.

When your business is firing on all cylinders, stretching your sales growth goal is not hard to do. Those two components, systems and culture, convey the confidence to consider a double-digit growth goal. It can be as high as 15 or even 25 percent; sometimes known as ‘Big Audacious Goals.’

Growing your fleet business is a great tactic in a double-digit growth strategy. Fleet business is different than traditional motorist volume. Fleet opportunities will not come to you. You will need to go after fleet business by becoming the sales person or face of the business. For many owners, being a sales person is out of their comfort zone, however, this may be the only way to grow your fleet sales.

Fleet owners or managers are always looking to talk to a facility that can help them control their costs and keep their fleet running reliably at all times. When their fleet does not move they do not make money. Keep in mind, your call to a potential fleet customer provides the fleet an option. Do not expect a yes on the first call, it may take a while to land a fleet but keep in touch and never give up! Always ask when they would prefer you to follow up with them.

There are a few ways to find fleet business opportunities: google local businesses, sit at a busy gas station and write down fleet names proudly displayed on vehicles, drive through the industrial parks in your marketing areas and lastly, ask your current customers.

Your fleet customer will be looking for convenience, a job done right and on time. It should not be too hard to integrate fleet business into your business model. If you need a higher bay door to accommodate larger fleet vehicles you may need to wait, but there are big opportunities for fleet business without modifying your bay door or building size.

You must have a strong value proposition to offer the fleet customer. Ask yourself, why would a fleet customer drive by three other shops to get to you? When you answer that question, you have your value proposition. Never present yourself as a sales person rather as a solution provider.

Fleet business will require you to have some flexibility because every fleet has different expectations. Relationships will become the most important part of the transaction. It goes without saying that honesty and integrity will rule and always be in the customers’ interest.

Fleet business can sustain your revenue during the up and down times of the year. Get out of your comfort zone and take on the challenge to grow your fleet business!

For more how-to’s and an in-depth discussion on fleet business, please listen to a great Town Hall Academy on Growing Your Fleet Business here: http://remarkableresults.biz/a048

JASPER is pleased to announce an expansion to the current GM 6L80 Transmission line.

Originally released in April 2011, this 6-speed transmission is now available on exchange for these additional applications:

• Cadillac

2010 Cadillac CTS-V

• Chevrolet/GMC

2010 Camaro (6.2L)

2012 Silverado, Sierra, Suburban, Yukon (6.0L, 4WD)

2013 Silverado, Sierra, Suburban, Yukon (6.0L, 4WD)

2014-2015 Silverado, Sierra, Suburban, Yukon (5.3L, 4WD)

2014-2016 Silverado/Sierra 1500 (4.3L)

2015 Express, Savanna, Silverado, Sierra, Yukon (6.0L, 4WD)

2015-2016 Express, Savanna, Silverado, Sierra, Yukon (6.0L, 2WD)

2016 Silverado 3500 (6.0L, 2WD)

2016 Silverado 3500 6.0L, 4WD)

“The transmission control modules of this unit are hydraulically, and electronically, tested on a stand-alone system, then tested again on a dynamometer using a state-of-the-art CAN software package,” says Brad Boeglin, JASPER Research and Development Group Leader. “JASPER offers free rental of DREW Technologies J2534 pass through devices and now also offers shops the ability to rent the DREW Remote programming system (RAPS).”

The 6L80 is covered by a 3-Year/100,000-Mile nationwide, transferable, parts and labor warranty. Full warranty disclosure is available on our website, or upon request. For more information on the complete line of JASPER remanufactured transmissions, log onto jasperengines.com or call 1.800.827.7455.